As a trading card collector, you’ve probably considered getting your cards professionally graded at one time or another.
Here’s an overview of the trading card grading process. We'll explore the benefits of graded trading cards, look at how to get your cards assessed by trusted grading services, and what to do with your cards after you’ve gotten them protected in slabs.
What are the benefits of getting your cards graded?
The benefits of graded trading cards include protection, information, authentication, and potentially added value.
Protection
When you get your trading cards graded by a professional grading service (more on those in a bit), you typically send them in "raw," which means not professionally graded.
After they’re graded, they’re placed in a protective case called a slab. These cases are ubiquitous in the industry and offer protection for your card. They’re sturdy and professionally sealed, helping protect your cards from common destructive forces such as humidity, accidental spills, or overstuffed boxes. It’s important to note that it takes special equipment and skill to remove the card from the case once it’s in there. If you get your card professionally graded, you should plan on it remaining in the case forever.
Numerical grade
As the name "grading" implies, your card also receives a numerical grade that reflects its condition. This grade is beneficial for a few reasons.
For one, it provides a quantifiable measure of your card’s condition. While you might love your copy regardless of others’ opinion of it, or recognize attractive features in the card regardless of other imperfections (for more on this, see Eye Appeal), this grade can be a significant factor in helping you decide whether to sell it or not. Grading plays an enormous role in the market value of your card. Generally speaking, the higher the grade, the more value it has to prospective buyers.
Another benefit of graded trading cards is that the grade provides a way to compare your copy to others directly. A higher grade symbolizes a better copy of a card. This also enables you to use comps. Checking comps is a process where you compare your card to those previously sold. You can see the sale price of other copies of the card with the same grade – giving you a better understanding of the market of your card.
But the usefulness of these numbers goes beyond head-to-head comparisons. Grading services provide free population reports (also called pop reports, population counts, or pop counts). This data shows you how many copies of each card graded by that service have received each grade. Lower pop counts of higher grades can lead to stronger interest in key cards.
Trading card grades can give you a better idea of your card’s value and stature in the market, which can help you make buy, sell, or hold decisions and even insurance valuations.
What is trading card authentication?
Trading card authentication is like grading, in that a professional service assesses the card. However, instead of receiving a numerical grade, the card is deemed authentic.
Authentication confirms a card is an actual, official copy and not a counterfeit. This provides prospective buyers peace of mind that they’re purchasing the real deal.
Authentication services such as MBA provide a lower price point than grading services while still offering authenticity, condition reports, and card identification.
See how MBA can help you protect your cards:
How do you get your trading cards graded or authenticated?
There are a few ways to get your trading cards graded by a trusted, professional grading card service.
The trading card grading and authentication services Fanatics Collect allows for sale are (in alphabetical order):
- Beckett
- CGC
- MBA
- PSA
- SGC
The most common way to get your cards graded is to mail them to the service. Each service will have a slightly different process, but in general, you’ll put your cards in specific types of protective sleeves, fill out some forms, pay a fee, and send them to the grading service.
Fanatics Collect also has partnerships with leading graders and authenticators, allowing you to ship once and skip the forms, card identification, wait times, and upcharges.
Partnerships with Beckett, CGC, MBA, and SGC offer Fanatics Collect clients easy, stress-free paths for authenticating raw trading cards. You ship your raw cards to Fanatics Collect and the team of experts does the rest.
Learn more about Grading and Authentication partnerships:
How are trading cards graded?
Professional grading services review several key characteristics when assessing cards. This includes corner and edge sharpness, centering, and the card's surface (i.e. blemishes, creases, print defects, etc.).
Some services also provide a separate grade for the signature on an autographed card, based on its depth, clarity, and any smearing or smudges.
Each grading service will have its own method for assessment, but they’re all built off two general pillars.
One is the experience of the graders, who have assessed tens of thousands of cards. This gives them the proper context to compare copies and understand where they sit in the grading hierarchy.
The other pillar is each company’s grading standards.
What are grading standards?
Grading standards are the specific requirements a card must meet to be eligible for a certain grade. Grading standards, which often include specific measurements and quantifiable data, are typically similar across different grading services.
One common grading standard is a card’s centering. A perfectly printed and cut card is considered to have 50/50 centering. Grading services will measure the relationship of a card’s photo, imagery, or other design aspects to its border to determine that ratio. Only cards that fall within a certain ratio range are eligible for certain grades. For example, a card might need to have a minimum 60/40 grading ratio on the front to obtain a grade of 9 or higher. These standards can vary between grading services.
Other grading standards aren’t as quantifiable. A service might allow for what it considers a minor blemish or flaw on a card’s surface to still qualify for a specific grade. How “minor” a blemish is is at the discretion of the grader.
You can easily find grading standards for the major grading services online at their respective websites.
Grading scales
Grading scales can also differ from one service to another. Some omit certain half grades (e.g. 9.5), and some offer grades of 10 in different tiers. For example, 10 Gem Mint, 10 Pristine, and 10 Black Label are all different tiers of quality that are specific to different graders.
What to do with your cards after they’re graded
When you send in your cards for grading, you’ll also supply a return address to which they’ll be sent after they’re assessed. Of course, this address can be your home or office if you want your cards sent back to you. Or they can be an alternative location, such as a professional collectibles vault. With Fanatics Collect you receive a unique Fanatics Collect Vault mailing address you can use to send your collectibles to directly. When you use Fanatics Collect's authentication and grading partnerships, your cards are returned directly to your vault account where they will be swiftly imaged in high resolution and curated into your vault portfolio.
If you do get your cards sent back to you, there are a few things to remember when deciding how to store or display them. While slabs offer plenty of protection, common hazards such as humidity and excessive temperature fluctuations can still cause damage.
If you decide to show off your slabs on stands, wall-hung displays, or under glass, make sure they’re not going to be hit with a lot of direct sunlight, which can cause fading.
The benefits of vaulting
Shipping to the Fanatics Collect Vault provides a variety of benefits, including:
- Industry-leading, temperature-controlled security and storage
- Insurance for your assets
- Low or non-existent one-time curation fees depending on the value
- Free storage for Fanatics Collect purchases
- Instant access to sales opportunities via 24/7 marketplaces
- Market appraisals and real-time valuation updates
- More value from Oregon's sales-tax-free status
Make the grade
Getting your trading cards graded can provide great protection, a better idea of where your copies stack up compared to others, and potentially more value on the secondary market.
Armed with the information above, you can find a process that best suits your budget, timeframe, and goals – and adds another element of enjoyment to your collecting and investing.
Learn more about the Fanatics Collect Vault: